


Gestalt

by Wesfanemt333



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-10
Updated: 2014-06-14
Packaged: 2018-01-01 03:05:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1039603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wesfanemt333/pseuds/Wesfanemt333
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when you watch Once Upon A Time and read Dr. Sleep?  This story, if you're me.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Granny’s Diner, 1530. 

The diner had a steady stream of customers, the normal amount of chaos for the time of day. It seemed to be a fairly typical day for Storybrooke. Until the door opened and a man no one recognized walked in. Everyone stopped in their tracks, staring with their mouths wide open. To say this was unexpected would be an understatement. The last “stranger” to come to town had been August, and he’d really belonged their, since he was from their land as well. 

The stranger walked up to an empty table, and turned the coffee cup over, as he waited to be served. He didn’t seem to notice or care that he was the object over everyone’s attention. It took a few minutes for Ruby to pull herself together, and serve him coffee. He shook his head when asked if he wanted a menu.

“Just coffee, thanks.” She walked away from the table feeling uneasy. She’d keep an eye on this guy, just to be on the safe side. She wasn’t alone in that. Everyone in Granny’s was watching, subtly or not. 

The Stables, same time.

Henry raced out of the stables, but he didn’t run far. He found a couple of boxes near one of the windows and peeked inside. His eyes widened as he heard them arguing over the man who’d attacked him. Since when had the evil Queen had a fiance? There was nothing about this in his book. She’d married the king, Snow White’s father. And if the book hadn’t mentioned that, what else had been left out? And he’d never, ever heard his mother plead like that before, for any reason. The desperation in her voice was as clear as day. Henry was relieved when David finally agreed, and left. But that couldn’t prepare him for what he’d see and hear next.

Regina stood still, facing Daniel as he moved awkwardly towards her. The man she had loved for so long, was in there somewhere. His hands made their way to her face, but instead of the gentle caress she’d been hoping for, they wrapped around her throat, cutting off her oxygen. For a brief moment, she was too stunned to do anything. The only thing that made Daniel pause was when she choked out three small words,

“I love you.” Then he dropped his hands, freeing Regina to gasp for air, leaning against the corral. Even before she fully caught her breath, she was in his arms, at last. Their reunion was not meant to be a joyful one, though. There was nothing Regina could do. There was no happy ending in this story. She had to do stop Daniel, before he hurt anyone else. And she couldn’t bear seeing him in so much pain. She knew what she had to do, even though she hated the thought of it. She immobilized him, and then with a wave of her hand, Daniel was gone. 

Regina fell to her knees, blinking back the tears that filled her eyes. Losing Daniel the first time had been bad enough. Now, she’d lost him again, and there was no coming back from that. To lose the love of her life twice in one lifetime was excruciating. Pain like she hadn’t allowed herself to feel in years overwhelmed her. For a brief, grief stricken second, she even thought death would be a preferable alternative to this feeling. 

At that moment, the strange man had finished his coffee and was standing up, looking to pay for it. He made it to the counter before his expression became pained. He wobbled on his feet for a moment, grabbing his head as he tried not to scream. Before anyone asked him what was wrong, his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed on the diner floor. 

Back at the stables, Henry rushed back inside, David following behind at a much slower pace. Henry went straight to his mother, holding her as she struggled to regain her self control. David stayed back, knowing on instinct Regina would not want him to see her like this. Regina seemed lost in her pain and sorrow, barely registering Henry’s arms around her. 

David’s phone chirped, and he glanced at the caller id. It was Ruby. He answered, walking away from Regina and Henry. This day was not getting any more fun, that was for sure. 

“Just when I thought today couldn’t get any weirder. All right, we’ll meet you at the hospital in a few minutes.” David hung up the phone and headed over to Regina and Henry. Though she was paler than usual Regina seemed to have her composure. 

“I need to go to the hospital. There’s a stranger in town, who just passsed out at the diner for no apparent reason.” To David’s surprise, there is no argument from Regina. And Henry was too surprised at the thought of a new person arriving in town. For years, until Emma had brought him home, no one had just “shown up”. Things were definitely changing in the little town of Storybrooke. 

Regina requested to be dropped off at Dr. Hopper’s office along the way to the hospital. When Archie opened the door, he was surprised to see Regina again. He hadn’t thought she’d return. Then she confessed,

“I used magic.” 

“Come in, and we’ll talk about it.” 

“It all really started years ago, with Daniel.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention in the first chapter, but I don’t own OUAT. Shocking, right? Anyway,back to the story:

When David and Henry arrived at the hospital he was not surprised to find most of the citizens of Storybrooke huddled nervously in the waiting room. They were all concerned about the appearance of a stranger in their town. This could be really bad news. Ruby approached David, holding their mystery visitor’s wallet and cell phone.

“His name is John Walker. Everyone’s really freaked out, and we don’t know what we should do.” David nodded. “What did the doctor say? Is John awake yet?” Ruby shook her head. The man had not woken up once since his collapse in the diner. 

“Dr. Johnson said he needed to run some tests, but won’t know anything until the results come back.” David rubbed his forehead, he could feel a tension headache coming. He thanked Ruby and walked back over to Henry and the group. Everyone was suggesting different things all at once. 

David did his best to keep everyone calm while they waited impatiently for Dr. Johnson. It was only an hour and a half, but it seemed to take forever. Their reaction was perfectly normal. Fairly disturbing if one thought about it. The important thing was that everyone keep calm. And not do anything stupid in front of the guy when he eventually woke up. Which they hoped would be soon. Several times, David had to stop Leroy from ‘putting an end to things’ with a pillow. Finally, the doctor walked up holding all the test results. 

“ Other than a moderate concussion, likely due to him hitting his head, it seems that Mr. Walker is in perfect health. None of the tests gave any reason for his collapse and continued state of unconsciousness.” David sighed, and addressed the group at large,

“All right, everyone. Our visitor is still unconscious, and until he wakes up, there’s nothing we can do. He didn’t see anything weird, did he?” Everyone shook their heads confirming there had been nothing odd that the stranger had seen. “I for one am not sitting here and waiting around. We’ve all got better things we could be doing.”

Everyone groused and grumbled, not surprisingly, but the waiting room cleared out fairly quickly. David heard his stomach growl, and looked at his watch. It was definitely well past when they normally ate. Nothing had been normal this afternoon, though. He turned to Henry,

“Come on, kiddo, let’s get some dinner.” Henry looked thoughtful for a few minutes. 

“At the diner? Can I have a milkshake?” 

“Sure, Henry.” 

“Can we invite my mom?” This was a surprise. But it made sense to David. Henry had seen what Regina had gone through with her long dead fiance coming back from the dead earlier. And while Regina was not someone David wanted as dinner company, he was still a compassionate guy. He handed Henry his cell phone,

“Sure, why don’t you call her. But don’t be too surprised if she isn’t up to it.” Henry nodded already punching in his mom’s cell number. They walked to the diner together, ready to put an end to this very long day.

 

Gold’s Shop, several days later. 

Everyone was relieved to see David wake up from his enchanted sleep. The tension that had been building since Snow and Emma had ended up in fairy tale land finally dissipated somewhat. They still had problems to deal with, that was certain, but now they were at least together. Emma, David, Snow and Henry all stood together, while Gold was off to the side. Regina hung back, still weakened from draining the deadly energy from the well. She hadn’t mentioned the after effects, not wanting to ever show weakness. 

They were only starting to talk about their separate adventures. With Snow and Emma in the enchanted forest, and everyone else in Storybrook, things had gotten complicated on both ends. Emma was telling everyone about seeing Snow kill an ogre with one shot from her arrow. And Snow chimed in with Emma’s exploits with the giant and the beanstalk. And they told about all of the ‘interesting’ people they met along the way home; Mulan, Princess Aurora, Cora, Anton the giant and of course Captain Hook. David started talking about John Walker, his arrival in town and unexplained collapse and continued unconsciousness. 

Their happy reunion was ended prematurely when Ruby came bursting into the room. The young werewolf was incredibly excited to see everyone, and nearly forgot why she’d run down to find them. It took her a few minutes to remember why it was so important that she find them immediately.

“He’s awake!” That simple sentence got everyone’s attention, and they all jumped in with questions. Even Regina was interested in knowing what was going on with Mr. Walker. Ruby waited for a few minutes to let everyone stop talking before she continued.

“He only asked one question when he woke up. He asked who Daniel is.” This bombshell shocked everyone, except for Emma. Emma looked confused by Ruby’s statement, and looked at her parents, both of whom looked sad and puzzled. And Regina had gone completely pale, leaning hard against one of the counters in the shop. Gold was surprised, but quickly changed his expression to a neutral one. Emma finally broke the awkward silence,

“Does someone want to fill me in on all this?” David answered,

“We’ll explain on the way to the hospital.” Henry went over to Regina, taking her hand as he looked at her with concern. She was still a bit shocked by all of this. She took a few seconds to mentally pull herself together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To Be Continued. Reviews appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

On the relatively short trip to the hospital, Snow explained how she first met Regina. And how Daniel entered into the picture. This was a real eye opener for the blonde woman, as she'd never heard this part of the story before. David informed his wife and daughter about Daniel's brief return to life. They were both stunned to learn of this, and Emma looked back to glance at Regina, walking a little ways behind them, Henry still holding her hand. She turned her attention back to her mother,

"So, Cora killed Daniel, because she wanted Regina to be queen?" Snow nodded sadly,

"Yes. I didn't know until years later. Cora crushed his heart, in front of Regina. Regina told me he'd run away, right before she married my father."

"Huh." Emma was a little puzzled by this. Almost everything she'd heard about Regina had pretty much been about the evil things she'd done. Other than the briefest description of rescuing her mother, and none of the aftermath.

The former evil queen was attempting to keep up with the group, but her fatigue was obvious. Stopping that spell had taken a lot out of her. Not that she'd admit it to her son, the savior or the not-quite-so Charmings. Wild horses would not drag that from her.

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

Interlude One. The hospital:

It only took twenty minutes for it to be decided that Emma alone would approach their mystery man. She walked into the room to find a man about her own age, with dark hair sitting up in the hospital bed, wincing. Emma sat down in a chair, near the bed.

"Hello Sheriff Swan. Or would you prefer Emma?" His gray eyes met her gaze steadily. Okay, that was unexpected.

"Let's start with how you know . . "

"Your name?" John sighed. This was going to be a real fun conversation. Right now, Emma seemed calm, but her thoughts were all over the map. He already had a throbbing pain in his head, that had nothing to do with the concussion the doctor had told him about. He took a drink of water to wet his dry throat.

Emma had no idea what to say. She'd thought she was done for a little while the surprises, but they just kept coming.

"All right, we can start with that. Or how you found this place. It's not really on the map." Emma knew this perfectly well, having looked a few times. John smiled, closing his eyes for a second.

"That's the easy one. I was sent here, by a friend of yours. You knew him first as August. But his real name is Pinocchio."

"How do you know August? And why did he send you here of all places?"

"We met as kids, in Tampa. My dad owned a hotel there, and I caught him trying to find food in the dumpster." John still remembered seeing a boy his own age, digging for food in the garbage. August had been skinny enough for John to realize the boys must have been starving.

"I tried hiding him in one of the empty rooms, but my dad realized what I was up to pretty quick. Dad let August stay with us for a while, before he decided he wanted to move on." John took a drink of water, before continuing.

"We lost touch for a while, but about five years ago we met up in New Jersey. It was a really rough time for me." That was an understatement. He'd been on a three day bender, and August had found him drunk in an alley. He'd spent the past few years in an alcohol induced haze, trying to drown the 'gift'. It worked for the most part, but the side effects of the booze were worse than the cure.

Emma listened to John's story, waiting for her bullshit detector to go off. But everything he said rang true. This meant one of two things, John was telling the truth, or he was just plain nuts.

"I am not crazy." Emma gaped at him, this was the second time he'd said what she was thinking without her saying a word.

"How are you doing that?" John shrugged,

"Long story, part two. I have a messenger bag in my car with a few items I need. And my cell phone was accidentally left in there as well. You send someone to get it, preferably not the angry one who wants to smother me with a pillow, I'll tell you. There's nothing dangerous, just a few personal things." Emma thought for a moment, then she nodded. She could send David, trusting that her father would bring back what was needed. She stood up, stretching the muscles that had stiffened while listening to John's story.

Emma poked her head out of the door, and called David over. After a very brief conversation, she handed him the keys to John's car and explained what they needed. Before he left, she asked him for one small favor, clear out the waiting room. The whole town did not need to sit and wait for her to finish.

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

Interlude Two: The waiting room,

David got everyone's attention, and started to tell the worried townsfolk what Emma had told him. Most of the people left quickly, feeling much calmer and trusting that their sheriff had everything under control. Leroy, not surprisingly at all was not about to budge. Regina was determined to stay as well. Henry sat next to her, trying valiantly to stay awake, but it was a battle he was not destined to win. It had been a very long day. She ran one of her hands through his hair, as he fell asleep with his head on her legs. He hadn't done that what felt like forever. It didn't take too long for Regina to fall asleep as well.

Snow went with David to get Mr. Walker's bag and phone. Not that he needed any help, but they were together for the first time in days. Days that had felt like months to the couple. They were both so glad to get a chance to just talk.

For her part, Emma went down to the hospital's cafeteria. She needed caffeine. A lot of it. She had a lot to think over and there was more to come. One things was sure, it was going to be a very long night. On her way back, she noticed Regina and Henry both completely zonked out. She went to one of the supply rooms and grabbed a blanket. Then, after a second thought, she grabbed two. She covered both of them, and headed back to the room.

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

Interlude Three: John Walker's Hospital Room

John had his eyes closed, feeling relieved when all but a few people left the waiting room. That was helping his headache. And he was even glad to hear _(feel)_ the creepy doctor return. As long as the man had pain relief, he didn't mind if the man _(Dr. Frankenstein)_ gave him serious bad vibes. When John opened his eyes, the doctor was holding a paper cup, with two pills inside.

"Thank you, Doctor." John accepted the cup gratefully he would be glad to get rid of this skull splitting issue. He closed his eyes again, trying to take a small rest, let the medicine do it's job.

It was about half an hour before Emma came back into his room, holding his black bag and cell. John took both, and rifled through the bag, finally pulling out an envelope with Emma's name on it. He handed it to the sheriff, before turning his attention to his phone.

"Shit." John swore under his breath, seeing a lot of missed calls. And his voice mail was full. He took a few seconds to call Tess while Emma read the letter from August.

"Tess. Tess. TESS!" But first he had to stop his kid sister from ranting at him. "Tess, I swear, I'm fine. I will explain it all soon, I promise. . . .No, I wasn't drinking . . . Yeah, it was one of my episodes.. . . Yes, he's here too, in my hospital room. . . I'll call you later." He hung up, glad to have that conversation over with. For now at least. He knew they'd be revisiting this incident, in great detail. Probably for years to come. Didn't need his ability to see that coming.

John turned his attention back to his bag, greatly relieved when he found the small bottle buried under assorted other things. He glanced at the dosage on the label, only one would probably suffice. He only wanted to dim things a little, not block it out entirely. He was fairly certain he'd need to prove himself to the sheriff _(the Savior)_ , and to the mayor _(the evil queen Regina)_. He concentrated a little, closing his eyes. The mayor was asleep, next to _(her son)_ a boy she loved dearly _(all she has left to love)_. He shuddered, then turned his attention to Emma.

"So, are you ready for the next part?"


	4. Chapter 4

Emma thought for a moment, she’d had a very long day, coming back from the enchanted forest. As much as she’d rather put off John’s story, it was probably better to do it now. He didn’t seem dangerous, but a couple of years in Storybrooke had made it very clear, things were not always as they seemed. She nodded,

“Sure.” _And then I can go home and go to sleep for the next several years._ John smirked, having heard her unspoken thought. He knew that feeling very well. He took a deep breath before starting.

“I’m not a telepath, I don’t exactly read minds. It’s more of an empathic kind of link between me and another person usually very quick. I can sometimes hear what they are thinking, surface thoughts mostly. It’s not always on, even. The past few years have been fairly quiet, not hardly any flashes. Usually they are brief and . . .not as powerful as they were when I was younger.” He looked over at Emma, to see if she was still following along. The sheriff seemed interested by his tale, obviously something new. But she was understandably skeptical about his story. John looked at her,

“Turn around and think of a number. Whatever number you can think of, no limits.” Emma turned around, and thought quickly for something she could use as a number that wouldn’t be easy to guess. John was smiling, even though she couldn’t see him, she could hear it in his voice when he spoke again.

“That song’s a classic. 867-5309. I heard that someone actually had that phone number and they had to change it because of that song.” Emma turned around, her eyes wide. That pretty much confirmed what John was saying, for her at least. The poor guy still had to convince Regina. But that was thankfully not Emma’s problem.

“My childhood was what you could describe as interesting. And I didn’t understand it at first. My mom used to tell me about when she tried dating, before she met Dad. I don’t remember, I was too young, but she told me there were some guys I’d throw a fit if she tried to go out with them.” John chuckled, remembering the annoyance on his mother’s face. But she hadn’t been too upset, since the end result was her marrying Terry. Terry may not be his biological father, but he’d called the man Dad since Terry and his mom got engaged.

“So your Dad?”

“Isn’t my biological father, no. But, he’s been Dad for a long time. Even before he and mom got married. His name is Terry, and he’s a little like me, he used to get flashes, and still does on occasion.”

“What happened that day at the diner?” Emma asked the question she’d wanted to ask John since he woke up. “Like I said before, I hadn’t had a strong flash in years. A twinge here and there, but nothing big. There is something off about this town, aside from the fairy tale people that live here. I noticed it when I woke up as well. It’s like it amplifies my flashes, makes them stronger. Which is probably why I passed out that day. If I’d known how strong it would be here I would have taken at least one of my pills.” John held up the small bottle,

“They are called Paxil, and they are part of the reason I got through my teen years mostly sane. They dull the flashing, make it less intense. But I’m getting off the subject. I had finished my coffee and I was about to ask where I could find you, when I felt the strongest flash I’d felt in years. It was a woman, and she was in a lot of pain. Pain that had something to do with a man that she loved dearly. A man named Daniel. I could feel every emotion she felt for a brief but insanely intense few minutes. Despair, anguish and this awful feeling of de ja vu all wrapped up in one person’s heart. It was like she’d already lost this man before, and now she had to see him die a second time. Which isn’t possible, right?”

John hoped he was wrong, but his gut was telling him the opposite. Emma was frowning, she knew some of this story from what her mother on the way to the hospital. But the person who knew this the best was asleep outside. She glanced over, looking at Regina, who seemed to be out cold still. She looked back at John, who nodded.

“The mayor wants to speak to me as well.”

“That’s a little creepy still.” John smirked,

“Imagine living with it in your head, and it’s not only just thoughts. When I was younger I’d get images too. The things people think about, to other people, to themselves. . . .” He didn’t have to say anymore. Emma got what he was saying, she’d seen some of the twisted things people did. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to know what some of the sick thoughts people around her had in their minds. John sighed, as he closed his eyes. He could feel the mayor’s feelings while her dream changed into nightmare. When John reopened his eyes, he glanced out the window, seeing the mayor starting to move in an agitated way.

“You should go wake Regina, before she wakes up Henry.” John blinked for a moment,“Who’s also your son.?” Emma stopped in her tracks, and looked at John, stunned. She looked out at the mayor, noticing what John had already seen.

“Do you know what she’s . . .”

“Dreaming about? Yes. Her wedding night.” John did not want to go into details. But he figured Emma would pick up on what he wasn’t saying. And even without using his power, he could tell she had by the disturbed look on her face. She left his room without another word.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jumping forward in Season Two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back. Hopefully I'll be able to keep writing more. And more for Secret Life soon as well. As I've said, I don't own OUAT at all, or Swan Queen would be canon already.

John looked at Archie, the former cricket looked like he’d been through the wringer a few times. And then run over by a semi. Still, considering everyone had thought the therapist was dead, he looked damn good for a corpse. And just about everyone had believed that Regina had killed Archie. John knew she hadn’t, and Emma had trusted Regina’s word at first. Then she’d gotten the images from a dog. Which made sense to everyone, except for John. 

In the relatively short time he’d been in this interesting little town, he’d come to almost expect weird things. Of course, they’d all gotten off to a good start. With a few minor misreadings, like when he’d asked Emma and Regina how long they’d been together. That had been an awkward situation. Of course, since he’d known about their son, Henry, for John, it had been a logical leap. Except that he’d apparently been wrong. Or had he just seen what was building between the two women? But that was theory for another day, and they were on a mission at the moment. 

Now that he knew about the odd amplification effect of Storybrooke, he was consistent with his Paxil. The dose helped keep things quieter, but he could still feel hints of emotion. He’d need to renew his prescription soon, but for now, it was good. John moved a little faster with Archie in tow. They needed to find Emma quickly, the scene at the former mayor’s house had been ugly as hell. School was getting out soon, and John had an inkling of where Emma would be. Henry still didn’t know what had occurred, and with a little bit of luck, he wouldn’t need to. The kid had dealt with enough recently. 

Within a few minutes, they had closed the distance and found Emma, huddled with her parents. The discussion looked fairly intense, which wasn't a shocker. John enjoyed the three looks of shock from the Charming family before he spoke.

“I told you so.” And yes, maybe there was just a hint of gloating in his voice. But only the slightest bit. The situation was bad, and it wasn't going to get any better. “It was Cora.”

“Shit!” In near perfect harmony from the stunned trio. If things weren't so dire, John would have laughed. 

“Hook is working with Cora as well. I don't think they know I've escaped yet, but they will soon.” Archie chimed in. Emma and Snow both looked concerned about these new developments. The savior thought quickly, 

“Okay, we need a plan. Archie, go with Snow and David to their apartment.” She looked around warily, seeing Regina's car parked off to the side of the road, as the brunette watched the school intensely, not seeming to notice the small group. They huddled for a few more minutes, hashing out the major details before breaking off. There was a basic plan, and they could work from there. Emma waited for Henry, as John went to see Regina, they'd need her on board for this to work. 

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

At Regina's car.

With Regina being so distracted and distraught as she saw Henry crying over Archie's death, it was easy to slip in on the passenger side of her car. She startled, obviously expecting an attack. John's hands came up quickly, 

“Easy, easy. I'm unarmed.” Then he became serious. “Archie's alive. Cora's here, she set you up.” John hated the look of horror on Regina's face, before she got her emotions under control, her mask slipping into place. “We're working on a plan, meet us in a little bit at the apartment. But don't let her see you, use your magic apparition thing.”Regina rolled her eyes at his phrase, but refrained from commenting. She nodded, and John added the final bit, which he knew Regina might like, maybe a little too much. 

“And just in case she's watching us now, look offended and slap me.” Regina did as she was asked, the sound loud in their ears. John pretended to be stunned, and stumbled out of her car. He walked away, heading to the Charming's tiny apartment. They needed to regroup, and figure out what exactly they were going to do with these lovely new additions to town. He had a bad feeling about this. 

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

 

John sat at the table with the group, as they plotted out their next moves. Obviously, they needed to figure out what Cora and Hook wanted. Well, Hook was an easy motive, revenge against Rumple, for loosing his hand and the woman he loved. Cora was more complicated and a much bigger threat. The tension in the room was so thick, John could nearly see it. It didn't help that Emma had let it slip to Cora that Henry was her and Regina's son. The fact that Emma hadn't known that it was Cora, or just how evil the woman was didn't make anyone feel any better. 

Thankfully, Henry was more than willing to talk to Archie in the other room. They didn't want to freak the poor kid out more than they already had. And Henry was not happy that Emma had lied to him. Of course, John knew that wasn't the only lie she'd told him, but John wasn't going to go there now. They had bigger fish to fry. 

Regina, for her part was pacing the room, not looking at anyone. Her relief at Henry believing her innocence had been very brief, since they were all in grave peril. Cora was ruthless, cruel and cunning. Regina stopped at the window, 

“I really hate this plan.” The former evil queen stated for the third time in as many minutes. She wanted nothing to do with her mother. Or Hook. Emma sighed, as she stood up from her seat. She walked over to Regina, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Do you have a better one?”

“Unfortunately, no. You have to keep Henry safe.” Regina turned to face the Savior, her face grim but determined. Even with the medication going strong, John could feel everyone's fears. It was harder for him to focus, with all the emotions running so ragged and tense. He focused on Henry's mothers, standing face to face and fought back a smile. No, he really hadn't been that far off. Even if they didn't realize it at the time. And if he had to play Cupid, so be it. He'd done a lot worse. But that would have to wait, there was a more pressing matter at hand. David and Snow sat holding hands, both too preoccupied with their own worries about the current crisis to pay attention to Emma, who still had her hand on Regina's shoulder, gently squeezing it. 

John cleared his throat, and everyone startled. Emma almost jumped, removing her hand quickly. 

“All right, I think we've got it hashed out as best we can. Let's get this over with, so things can be normal again. Whatever 'normal' is here, anyway.” There were a few chuckles, as the group broke apart and Regina vanished in a cloud of purple smoke. She had the hardest part in all this, playing the double agent. And if Cora figured out what her daughter was up to . . . . it would not end well for the mayor. Or anyone in Storybrooke for that matter. 

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

Interlude: Two AM

Emma glanced at her phone, as it started the song “Witchy Woman”, her ringtone for Regina. She groaned hoping for good news, since she'd finally fallen asleep. Her hopes were dashed as she read the message.

“She's asleep. Still no idea on her plans. How's Henry?” Emma typed a quick response.

“He's fine, sound asleep, he said he misses you. No sign of Hook in town at all.” Regina blinked away the tears that wanted to fall. She wanted to be with her son, even if it meant sharing him with Emma. After spending time with her mother, it made the former queen actually miss the blond's company. Cora was just as manipulative and cruel as Regina still saw in her nightmares. Reminding of her of the nightmarish marriage to Snow's father was just the tip of things. 

Regina put her phone down, after making sure it was on vibrate, and turned out the light as she tried to sleep. Again. Maybe she could get a few hours of peaceful sleep before everything went to shit. She could get that lucky. 

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX 

Interlude: Charming Apartment, Nine AM

David and Snow were having a quiet cup of coffee, before Emma and Henry woke up. With Cora in town, Henry was out of school, thankfully on break, and everyone was basically trying to keep up appearances of normalcy. Which was difficult, especially for Snow. But she wasn't that naive little girl anymore. 

A knock on the door startled the couple, as no one was expected. And their visitor was not a happy camper. Mr. Gold stood there with his cane, looking for Emma. He seemed rather impatient. 

“You owe me a favor, dearie. Now I'm calling it in. We're going to find my son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More to come, hopefully soon. Please review


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